The Republican-led House passed its first major bill of the new Congress on Tuesday—a strict border security measure named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia whose murder by an illegal immigrant became a central issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.
The Laken Riley Act was approved by a 264-159 vote, applying pressure on Senate Democrats as Republicans, who now control the upper chamber, plan to bring it to a vote this Friday—what would have been Riley’s 23rd birthday.
All 52 Senate Republicans, along with Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, have co-sponsored the legislation. However, Republicans will need support from seven additional Democrats to achieve the 60-vote threshold required to bypass a filibuster.
“We welcome any Democrat who wants to help us solve these problems,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) before the vote. “The American people demand and deserve action—it’s long overdue.”
In November, 26-year-old Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally, was convicted of kidnapping, assaulting, and murdering Riley while she was jogging near the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Ibarra, who had prior run-ins with law enforcement for shoplifting, was not detained due to a lack of an Immigration and